Myanmar court denies bail to Reuters journos held under secrecy law

2 February, 2018 12:00 AM

YANGON: A Myanmar court on Thursday denied bail to two Reuters journalists charged under a secrecy act that could see them face up to 14 years in jail, in a case that has sparked outcry over shrinking media freedom, reports AFP.

Myanmar nationals Wa Lone, 31, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 27, are accused of possessing classified documents thought to relate to the violent military crackdown on the Rohingya Muslim minority.

The campaign in northern Rakhine state has forced nearly 700,000 Rohingya Muslims over the border into Bangladesh since August, many carrying allegations of rape, mass murder and arson at the hands of Myanmar’s army. “The court has decided not to give them bail,” judge Ye Lwin told the Yangon court of charges under the colonial-era Official Secrets Act.

The journalists, who have been in custody since December, say they were given the papers by two policemen who had invited them to dinner in the outskirts of Yangon.

As they left the restaurant, they say they were arrested before they even had a chance to look at the documents—a timeline that observers allege points to a set-up police operation.

The court had discretion to grant bail if it deemed that their detention had been unlawful.

Human rights groups and a cast of diplomats and international grandees, including former US president Bill Clinton, have called for their release.

The bail decision was crucial as pre-trial hearings are expected to drag on for several months before the court officially decides whether to take on the case or not.